The Moment I Knew
by twiwriter98
Summary: The day after Bella's unfortunate birthday party event, a recreation on Edward saying goodbye, but not in the way you think he will... BxE, Oneshot


**A/N: I know I've uploaded two one-shots and finished off a story in just one day, but I have school again the day after tomorrow and I'm tying up loose ends. Please, please, please review! It honestly sincerely means more than you can imagine to me. Enjoy!**

BPOV:

I smoothed down my party dress and glanced at my clock – 5:47pm. The guests were supposed to arrive at six. Charlie was throwing me a birthday party, thanks to a little bit of help from Edward and Alice. I had been forbidden from going outside, so even I hadn't seen any of the decorations yet.

I paced the floor of my bedroom, wondering where they were. I was starting to freak out – Edward was very upset last night, and I couldn't help but take it personally. What if he had done something? What if something had happened? None of the Cullen's were at school today.

I banished the thoughts from my mind. Rosalie and Emmett had come from _Africa_ to be here at my party. According to Emmett, it was their 'party of the century – literally'. There was no way Rosalie wouldn't attend. Edward said that she wanted to get a reaction out of some senior boys, and I doubted she wouldn't have come all this way just to turn back around.

I completed one last check before I headed downstairs. I fixed my mascara and fire truck red – Alice's decision, not my own – lipstick. I combed through my freshly curled hair with my fingers before slipping my black ballet flats on.

Alice had pretty much picked my entire outfit. The navy dress with white polka-dots was an early birthday present, and I will admit – it was surprisingly gorgeous. It cinched at the waist line only to flare out even more at the bottom. I mentally thanked my pixie-like friend before heading downstairs. If not for her, I wouldn't know what to wear.

Charlie must have heard me on the stairs, because he rushed to the bottom before the back door could come into view, beaming ear to ear.

"Is Alice here yet?" I asked, although we both knew I wasn't talking about Alice.

"No," Charlie answered, "but I'm sure she'll arrive soon. Bells, you look absolutely beautiful!"

"Thanks," I smiled shyly. There was an awkward silence.

"Look, I promised I'd wait for Alice to get here before I showed you, but… I just can't wait any more!"

He forced me to walk through the corridor with my eyes shut tightly. His hands were on my shoulders as he guided me out the back door and into our small backyard.

But it didn't look like our small backyard.

Alice had certainly outdone herself this time. The first thing I noticed were the pink rose petals lying on the grass. Japanese lanterns hung from the huge cedars overhanging our back fence, casting a pleasant glow on the space nearby. Fairy lights were wrapped around every other visible branch. The two pot plants by the back door were also covered in the decorative lights.

A long, rectangular table had been set up, too, covered in a white table cloth. The entire surface was covered in glass bowls, plates and platters filled with fruit and party snacks. Pink rose petals had been daintily scattered along the surface.

Each windowsill noticeable was lined with pink candles, and crystal bowls filled with even more pink roses were placed anywhere they would fit – at the foot of the house, lining the garden beds, and some were even placed in plant holders that had previously held dying flowers.

I laughed aloud at her insanity. "It's gorgeous," I breathed. "I'm going to have to kill her for this later."

"Just enjoy it," Charlie insisted. "You don't know how long Alice was out here today, making sure each detail was perfect."

It hadn't even clicked in my mind that the reason Alice wasn't in school today was because she had been here, setting up.

"Was Edward here today, too?" I pressed.

Charlie shrugged. "I don't know. I think he slipped in and out at one point."

"Dad, this is important," I asked urgently. "Was Edward here today?"

He thought about it, then nodded slowly. "Yeah, yeah I think he was, actually. I remember now, he came in with his mother. They were both holding bunches of pink roses."

I was relieved that Edward and Alice were here, preparing for my birthday. I couldn't concentrate in class today, I was so sure that Edward was at home, still wallowing. I'd had a bad feeling in my stomach all day, like something bad was going to happen, but I guess it was just Alice going all-out with my birthday.

The sound of the doorbell ringing snapped me out of my thoughts. "Guess I forgot to open the side gate," Charlie said sheepishly. "I'll go open that now, how about you greet your guests? Don't want your poor old dad embarrassing you." He winked as he walked through the backyard, trying not to step on any of the rose petals.

I laughed at him, comforted with the knowledge that Edward was okay. I'd been missing him all day. Hopefully he'd spoken to Jasper and cooled down.

I rushed through the house, eager to get the door. Edward had probably heard Charlie and I talking outside and thought it would be impolite to barge in. I blushed when I realized he probably heard me frantically asking about him, like the clingy girlfriends we usually made fun of at school.

Our front door had a little glass cut-out in it, and as I got closer I could see two other silhouettes there. I smiled even wider, hoping that Emmett and Jasper had decided to come. I fumbled with the key in the lock for a moment, but eventually the door swung inward.

Standing on my front porch was not Edward and his family, but Mike Newton and two other friends; Jessica and Angela.

"Hey," Mike greeted awkwardly.

"Hi," I said, trying to not look upset at their appearance to my party.

"Happy Birthday," he smiled, handing me a poorly wrapped parcel.

"Uh, thanks," I replied, taking the parcel. "The entry's actually just to the side; I think my dad just opened the gate."

"Oh, okay," he replied. "Thanks."

He and Jessica set off to the side, but Angela stayed behind. "This is from Jessica and I." She smiled softly, handing me an envelope.

"Thank you, Angela," I smiled. "Do you want to come in through the house?"

"No, that's okay," she replied politely. "I'll follow Mike and Jessica."

I nodded as she began to walk away. I shut the door and relocked it, walking blindly through my house to the back. I barely registered as I placed the two presents down on the kitchen table. Where were they? Where was _he? _It wasn't like a Cullen to be late.

I met back up with my friends in the backyard, where all three of them had gathered. They were all dressed very formally. Mike was wearing trousers with a light blue button-up, Jessica was in a tight fitting red dress and Angela had decided upon a black and white geometric dress.

"The place is beautiful, Bella," Angela complimented. "This must have taken hours."

"It is, isn't it?" I agreed. "Although, I can take no credit. It was all Alice."

"Of course, another Cullen," Mike muttered. I pretended not to notice.

"Err, would you like something to eat or drink?" I asked, attempting – and failing – to be a good hostess.

Angela and Mike declined, but Jessica politely asked for a cup of water.

Alice really thought of everything, I thought to myself as I got a champagne glass from a pile. I thought it was completely ridiculous and expensively unnecessary, but I was also touched she had put this much effort in, even working at human speed for Charlie's sake.

Elegant looking jugs – that I'm sure weren't ours – filled with water, orange juice and Coke were placed at regular intervals along the table. I picked out a water one and began to fill Jessica's glass for her.

"So," she asked, trying to make light conversation. "Where was the boyfriend today?"

"Umm, he was setting up this with Alice," I said. I didn't know if that was entirely true or not, but a simpler 'I don't know' would have raised questions and started gossip.

Jessica nodded. "They did a great job. You're lucky to have a guy that would do this for you."

"Yeah, I am," I smiled softly.

She took a tentative sip from her glass, as if she half-expected it to be poison. "When are they arriving?" she asked.

"Uh, I'm not quite sure," I replied. Her eyebrows raised, so I quickly added, "they should be here soon, though. Alice just left as I arrived home. They live a bit out of town, they're probably on their way now."

Our conversation awkwardly faded after that, and eventually Jessica strolled away. Tyler and Eric were the next to arrive, and then Lauren. Both Tyler and Eric were unnaturally friendly, insisting on hugging the birthday girl. Their presents were eagerly pushed into my arms, and then offers of assistance were made. Once I assured them I was fine and thanked them for their thoughtfulness, they finally walked over to wear the other three were talking.

Lauren's appearance was a little less friendly. She did, however, acknowledge my presence with more than just a glare. She tossed her long hair over her shoulder as she handed me a small bag. "Happy birthday," she said, then strolled over to where the others were. She looked completely gorgeous, in a skin-tight, short, black dress with a revealing neckline and low back. She was even wearing black pumps.

Apparently, my party was 'the' party to be at this year, and Alice hadn't failed to invite the whole year. As people arrived, they all said hello to me and wished me a happy birthday. Some had bought gifts, unfortunately, but thankfully most of them hadn't realized, and awkwardly tried to speak with me before joining the others.

The original bundle of teenagers broke into various, smaller groups as it became too big for everyone to cluster in the one spot. Charlie came out at one point, mainly to marvel at the enormity of the guests attending, and then to question as to why I wasn't interacting.

I sighed, but stood and walked around, only to make Charlie happy. After a few minutes, filled with uneasy butterflies and many glances to the side gate, I sat down again, this time on the other side of the lawn, where I had a clear view of who was coming.

At some point, someone discovered a music dock that Alice must have brought, and started playing loud music. I was sure Charlie would complain, but he didn't come out.

People would occasionally come over and ask how I've been. I kept my answers short, and soon people stopped asking. I combed back through my memory… he promised he'd be here, I reassured myself. He promised. So did Alice. And Alice would never give up an opportunity to attend a party.

So I just sat and waited for Edward to walk through the door with that perfect, 'I'm-right-here' smile. I just kept focusing on how happy I would be when he arrived.

The Christmas lights and Japanese lanterns began to glow as the sun set. People had stopped arriving at this point, and we were well into the party. I checked my watch, eager for it to either end, or for Edward to arrive.

It read seven o'clock, which meant that he should have been here by now. There's still two more hours, I reassured myself.

The next hour passed by torturously slow, and soon my legs began to cramp from sitting in the garden chair so long, so I stood up, walking through the throng of dancing students. After a while, I stopped walking, too. I stood amongst everyone, tears welling up in my eyes.

It was like slow motion, standing there in my party dress with red lipstick, and no one to impress. Everyone's laughing as I'm looking around the place. There was one thing missing, and that was the moment I knew.

I just wanted to be alone, and I pushed through everyone, trying to escape to the house. "Hey, Bella," someone called, but I ignored them.

They continued to call my name, and as soon as I escaped from the crowd of people, she did, too. It was Jessica. "Where's Edward?" she asked. "I thought you said he and Alice were coming?"

Mike and Angela pushed their way out of the crowd almost immediately after. "Are you alright?" they both asked.

I didn't answer either question, and headed into the house. Charlie must be upstairs, because the TV was turned off and he didn't ask who had entered.

The three of them followed me down the hall, and then into the bathroom. "Bella, what's going on?" Mike asked.

I leaned over the sink, my hands firmly clutching the edge. I tried so hard not to fall apart as the sinking feels started. "He said he'd be here," I said. "He said he'd be here, he said he'd be here," I repeated hopelessly.

"Oh, honey," Jessica comforted, drawing me into a hug. "Let's just get back out to the party, okay? You'll forget about him if you start to dance."

I realized immediately what Jessica was doing – she didn't care that Edward wasn't here. To be fair, she didn't get it. She just wanted to return to the party.

"I think you should go," I sobbed, struggling to keep the tears in, but they flowed regardless of my will.

"I'm sorry?" she asked, taken aback.

"Not just you, everyone." I turned to Mike and Angela. "Can you please help me get everyone to leave? Tell them the party's over."

"But we still have half an hour left!" Jessica argued.

"It's her birthday, Jess," Mike reasoned. "Maybe she needs to be alone."

"No, what she needs is her party," Jessica fought back.

"I'll spread the word," Angela promised. She turned to leave and Jessica stormed after her.

"Come on," Mike said. I was too upset to argue as he wrapped one arm around me, leading me through the house. I could barely see through my tears. When we came back outside, Angela was standing on one chair, trying to get everyone to quiet down.

Mike jogged over to the music player and turned it off completely. "Thank you," she said loudly to Mike. "Okay, the party's over," she announced. Every groaned. "Yeah, yeah, I know. See you all on Monday. Time to go."

At first I didn't think anyone would listen to her, but eventually people started heading to the gate.

Until someone yelled, "Hey, Bella, why are you crying? It's your birthday!"

I froze in horror, my anger at Tyler – who had been the one who pointed it out – rising, as everyone turned to me. I tried not to crumble in front of everyone, but what do you say when tears are streaming down your face in front of everyone you know?

I had never been so happy that Eric and Mike sort of fancied me, because as soon as Tyler realized his mistake, Eric and Mike both jumped at the chance to play the good guy. They helped to usher everyone out.

Soon the backyard was empty, aside from the three boys, myself and Angela.

"Where's Jessica?" Angela asked Mike. "We were supposed to give her a lift home."

"I saw her getting in a car with Lauren," Mike said.

"Bella, are you okay?" Eric asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied, but my voice sounded empty even to my own ears as my world began to split down the middle as what was happening began to really set in.

He tried to wrap me in a hug, and I caught a glance of Mike fuming, but I pushed him away, which caused Mike to grin smugly. "I just need to be alone. Please."

Angela nodded immediately and had to take Mike by the arm and drag him away. "I'll see you at school on Monday, Bella!" he called. "Call me if you want to talk."

I did my best to ignore him. "Thank goodness he's gone," Tyler laughed.

"Can you two please go?" I didn't intend to sound rude, but I didn't know what to do. Tyler and Eric both looked a little hurt, but left without too much difficulty.

Which left me alone in the backyard, and at this point, I permitted myself to fall apart. I collapsed on the ground, sobs shaking my entire body. It was getting hard to breathe, but I didn't care. I couldn't handle this. I couldn't handle the fact that I would never see him again, that he didn't even say goodbye.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only ten or fifteen minutes, I attempted to calm myself down. I stood up, wiping the tears away with the back of my hand. I was slightly dizzy, and I kicked off my shoes, clutching them in one hand.

I was sure I was mess – my hair probably looked like a bird's nest, my mascara was almost definitely running and I was positive the hideous lipstick hadn't stayed purely on my lips.

As I turned around to sneak quietly upstairs and go straight to bed, Charlie opened the door. "Where'd everyone go?" he wondered aloud. Then his eyes settled on me. "Bella, what happened?" he rushed towards me. "Are you hurt? Did something happen?"

I shook my head. "I'll clean the backyard up tomorrow," I promised, but other than that I didn't say a word. He tried to pry me for more answers, and only gave up when I locked myself in the bathroom. I used an old hand towel to wipe the mascara and lipstick off. I tossed it in the bin, not bothering to wash it and hang it out to dry.

I didn't even bother brushing my hair – it was too knotty to do anything with, and it took all my strength to stumble around my room trying to find pajamas. I got changed in a blur, , and finally sank into bed. I was both relieved and heartbroken.

That was the first night I cried myself to sleep. It was also the first night I screamed myself awake. The nightmares had begun.

EPOV:

I closed my eyes, trying to stay out of Alice's mind.

"I hope this is what you want," she snapped, facing the wide window at the back of the house.

"I need to protect her," I tried to reason. The tearing feeling in my chest hadn't gone away since the second I'd decided it would be best to leave. "She's human, we're vampires. We're not good for her. She's going to end up getting seriously hurt, or worse."

"Then why won't you just change her?" Alice wheeled back to me. We were standing in our family living room, packed bags and boxes strewn around us. "Why won't you make her like us? That's what Bella wants. Why won't you just do the right thing for once?"

"I am doing the right thing," I growled. "It's killing me every second, but this is the right thing to do."

"You're hurting her," she argued. "You don't know what will happen, but I do."

"I told you to stay out of her future, Alice!" I demanded. "Don't go looking for her."

"I will stay out of her future," she responded angrily. "But that doesn't mean I won't see it. I can see it now. She's going to spend months crying herself to sleep, hardly eating-"

"Enough!"

"You can't just say that and expect everything to be over, Edward," she hissed. "While we're somewhere else in the world, 'protecting her', she'll be at home in tears for months because her boyfriend, her best friend and her _family_ didn't even say goodbye. What's she going to think? You know Bella, Edward. You know she'll blame herself. She's going to spend the rest of her life thinking that it was her fault-"

"But that's my point!" I replied. "She's going to spend _the rest of her life_. A normal, human life. She'll fall in love again eventually, she'll have children, she'll be with someone she can grow old with."

"No man on this earth will love her the way you did," Alice replied. "The way you _do_. Why are you doing this to yourself?"

"Because Bella's safety means more than what I want." Alice looked like she was about to argue, but I cut her off. "I'm not changing my mind. It's time to go."

I spun on my heel and stormed off through the house, picking up a box full of books along the way. I wouldn't be returning to Forks again.

**A/N: This was inspired by the song 'The Moment I Knew' by Taylor Swift. Most of you probably know the song I'm talking about, but if you don't, check it out! It's amazing!**

**My favourite Taylor Swift song from 'Red' is most definitely 'All Too Well', but I also like 'Everything Has Changed', 'I Almost Do' and 'The Last Time'. What's yours?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or any of the characters. I don't own the song 'Moment I Knew' nor any of the other songs mentioned above.**


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